Mail and Guardian
Zimbabwe turns back the clock
Angus
Shaw | Harare, Zimbabwe
14 September 2004 08:59
In this
nation that once boasted one of sub-Saharan Africa's most vibrant
economies,
things have become so bad that people have taken to telling a wry
joke:
"What did we have before candles?"
The answer: "Electricity."
Four
years of turmoil have turned back the clock here.
Ambulances are drawn by
oxen. Hand-guided cattle plows have replaced farm
machinery. The state
railroad uses gunpowder charges on the tracks to warn
trains of danger
ahead.
The often-violent seizure of thousands of white-owned farms for
reallocation
to black Zimbabweans, coupled with erratic rains, has decimated
Zimbabwe's
agriculture-based economy.
President Robert Mugabe argues
that the land seizures have corrected
ownership imbalances from British
colonial days that left one-third of the
country's farmland in the hands of
about 5 000 white farmers.
Many seized farms went to Mugabe's cronies and
lie fallow.
Ownership deeds were abolished, denying most new farmers
collateral for
loans for equipment and materials. Tobacco production -- once
the country's
biggest hard-currency earner -- has dropped by nearly 75%
since the seizures
began in 2000.
The economic free-fall has been
marked by regular power blackouts and acute
shortages of fuel, spare parts
and new technology. Soaring inflation and a
shortage of hard currency have
made it impossible to import machinery needed
to rebuild the
economy.
Once-fertile farmland now has the desolate look of a junkyard;
farm machines
that used to rumble through fields now stand idle, broken down
or plundered
for components.
"Whole irrigation systems are down, farm
equipment is at a standstill or in
a shocking state of repair," said John
Worsely-Worswick, head of a farmers'
support group.
A formerly
white-owned estate that produced a fourth of the nation's wheat
has been
broken up into small parcels of land for black farmers, bringing
intensive,
large-scale farming to a halt.
The once-mechanised property in the main
grain-growing area of Chinhoyi,
north-west of Harare, is now mainly tilled
by animal-drawn harrows.
In an unusual admission of economic weakness,
the government recently
estimated that at least 35 000 new tractors are
needed to revive mechanised
agriculture, which began here with the
importation of the first tractor in
1911. Foreign investors and aid groups
have been withholding support because
of alleged government corruption and
human-rights violations.
With signals functioning on just 20km of a 300km
stretch of track, the
state-owned National Railways of Zimbabwe has reverted
to posting
handwritten cards at sidings and stations to advise crews about
the
movements of trains.
Crews use signboards or small gunpowder
charges detonated by an oncoming
train's front wheels to warn of blockages
ahead.
A plan to reintroduce steam trains on some routes was abandoned
earlier this
year because costly and impractical repairs were needed at
water-pumping
points.
The independent Southern African Railways
Association has described
Zimbabwe's broken railway system as lagging at
least 50 years behind
present-day standards.
Faced with a shortage of
ambulances in the crumbling national health system,
nine wooden carts hauled
by oxen went into service in July to ferry pregnant
women, children and
other non-emergency cases safely -- and slowly -- along
rural dirt roads to
the nearest clinics.
The United Nations Children's Fund helped pay for
the locally built
ambulances -- bigger, enclosed versions of the traditional
donkey cart, with
a red cross emblazoned on their white sides. More are
planned, said Tich
Chikowore, of the Children's Fund.
Abraham Kochi,
a house painter from western Harare, said he can no longer
find kerosene for
his stove and is forced to cook with firewood.
"I go to meet the buses
coming from the rural areas. They are bringing
bundles of wood to sell," he
said.
This new reliance on firewood by poor families has caused severe
deforestation.
As poverty deepens, the Zimbabwe National Association
of Traditional Healers
has reported a sharp increase in patients consulting
herbalists and
spiritualists who practise centuries-old rituals that had
previously been
waning.
Their services and potions -- such as crushed
beetles and roots to treat
common fevers and other ailments -- cost a
fraction of those of Western
doctors.
Doctors say midwives are now
sealing off the umbilical protrusion of
newborns with string, and dentists
say many of their patients are using salt
instead of
toothpaste.
Unemployment of nearly 80% has forced many skilled workers to
eke out a
living as street vendors.
Disused mine shafts have been
unsealed by desperate Zimbabweans searching
for the remnants of ore that is
then crushed and panned in water using
ancient techniques.
Much of
the ore is found around the pillars that hold up the shafts, said
mining
expert John Holloway.
"Hacking away at the pillars and walls is very
dangerous indeed," he said,
though there are no records of deaths or
injuries among the illegal miners.
Panners digging deep into river banks
have also caused massive environmental
damage, he said. Seasonal rains wash
away the banks and dump silt into the
rivers and dams.
Such practices
are effectively encouraged by the government, which increased
the price paid
by the state bullion exchange for gold after a dramatic fall
in legal
production last year, blamed on shortages of mining equipment and
spare
parts.
"We have gone back in time," said Worsely-Worswick, of the
farmer's support
group. -- Sapa-AP
September 13,
2004
~~~ Newsletter 051
~~~
Breaking all the rules
Join our
mailing list
Remember, you must be
dialled up to the internet to view the pictures in this newsletter.
Make
sure to look at the image below of zpf's spin machine.
We
don't brake for dictators.
- Zvakwana bumper sticker
Russia 1974
= Zimbabwe 2004
Does history teach us anything? What lessons do we learn; how much do
we ignore? Below are some extractions from Alexander Solzhenitsyn's essay called
Live Not By Lies.
Some background information:
Solzhenitsyn spent 11 years in prison camps and exile after being arrested in
1945 for writing letters containing remarks critical of Stalin. There, in the
camps, he first met people able to talk openly and grapple with real issues in
ways that were impossible in conditions of freedom where family, career and the
future were considerations. 'Live not by Lies' was released on 14 February 1974.
Written about four years earlier, it pointed to the double standards of an
ideology that had come to serve the ends of power, to public fear and inertia.
It called for a campaign of non-cooperation with a harsh and often brutal
communist regime that survived largely by suppressing information and creating
fantasies about itself. It urged the Soviet people to be true to their own
perceptions and understanding, and not subscribe to any form of words that
belied or misrepresented these. 'In our country the lie has become not just a
moral category but a pillar of the state. In breaking with the lie, we are
performing . . . an act that would immediately have an effect on our way of
life.'
Live Not By
Lies - selected bits and pieces
Things have almost reached rock
bottom. A universal spiritual death has already touched us all and physical
death will soon flare up and consume us and our children. But, as before, we
still smile in a cowardly fashion and mumble with our tongues tied. What can we
do to stop it? We haven't the strength. We have been so hopelessly dehumanised
that for today's ration of food we are willing to abandon all our principles,
our souls and the efforts of our predecessors, as well as all the opportunities
for our descendants. Just don't disturb our fragile existence! We lack
resolution, pride and enthusiasm. We don't even fear universal nuclear death,
nor do we fear a third world war - perhaps we can hide in crevices. We just fear
acts of civil courage. We are afraid to lag behind the herd and to take one step
alone - and suddenly to find ourselves without white bread, heating gas and a
Moscow registration.
We cannot do anything about
it. But we can! We lie to ourselves to preserve our peace of mind. It is not
they who should be blamed but ourselves. One can object, but cannot imagine what
to do. Gags have been stuffed into our mouths. Nobody wants to listen to us and
nobody asks our opinion. How can we force them to listen to us? It is impossible
to change their minds. It would be logical to vote them out of office, but there
are no elections in our country.
In the West people resort to
strikes and protest demonstrations, but we are too downtrodden and it is too
horrifying for us. How can one suddenly renounce a job and take to the streets?
Is the circle closed? Is
there really no way out? Is there only one thing left to do - to wait without
taking any action? Maybe something will happen by itself. But it will never
happen as long as we daily acknowledge, extol and strengthen - and do not sever
ourselves from - the most perceptible of its aspects: lies. When violence
intrudes into peaceful life, its face glows with self-confidence, as if it were
carrying a banner and shouting: 'I am violence. Run away, make way for me - I
will crush you.' But violence quickly grows old. After only a few years it loses
confidence in itself, and in order to maintain a respectable face it summons
falsehood as its ally - since violence can conceal itself with nothing except
lies, and the lies can be maintained only by violence. Violence does not lay its
paw on every shoulder every day: it demands from us only obedience to lies and
daily participation in lies. And this submissiveness is the crux of the matter.
The simplest and most accessible key to our self-neglected liberation is this:
personal non-participation in lies.
And from that day onward
she:
- will not sign, write or
print in any way a single phrase which in her opinion distorts the truth neither
on her own behalf nor at the prompting of someone else, neither in the role of
agitator, teacher, educator, nor as an actor
- will not depict, foster or
broadcast a single idea in which she can see a distortion of the truth, whether
it be in painting, sculpture, photography, technical science or music
- will not cite out of
context, either orally or in writing, a single quotation to please someone, to
feather her own nest, to achieve success in her work, if she does not completely
share the idea which is quoted, or if it does not accurately reflect the matter
at issue
- will not allow herself to
be compelled to attend demonstrations and meetings if they are contrary to her
desire
- will immediately walk out
of a meeting, session, lecture, performance or film if she hears a speaker tell
lies, or purvey ideological nonsense or shameless propaganda
- will not subscribe to or
buy a newspaper or magazine in which information is distorted and primary facts
are concealed.
If we are too frightened,
then we should stop complaining that we are being suffocated. We are doing this
to ourselves. Read more on the Zvakwana website
The
picture above shows the massive crowd thronging one of the MDC anniversary
rallies
Big support was in evidence. Yes, and this is positive
because unlike the failing regime that buys bus tickets for people to attend
their events, loyal MDC supporters went because they really wanted to. Were you
there? How do you show your support for democratic change?
Need
to hire some chairs for your wedding?
Then think twice about going
to Rooney's who were put in the Financial Gazette as being one of the biggest
money givers to zanu pf. Maybe Rooney's can tell us how well they think zanu pf
spent their donation. Or maybe they are just greasing the ruling party's plate.
Protecting grace
I nearly choked on my tea when I
read an article about a 'specialist protection service' (Essentials Magazine
July issue page 23) who name grace mugabe on their client list alongside people
like U2's lead singer Bono, the International Olympic Committee of SA and Don
King. (This is a real double whammy as everyone knows that Bono is an activist
rallying support to help alleviate problems in Africa). Maybe you could suggest
that people contact them and ask them why they pride themselves in protecting
the grace.
Write to Bono and ask him
not to use the same company that services a dictator's wife next time he visits
South Africa: redfaces@u2.com
Email: bodyguards@mbg.co.za
Millennium
Bodyguards website: www.mbg.co.za/default.htm
Sent in from a Zvakwana
subscriber
Guerrillas
rule, ok!
mugabe
warned Britain, the United States, Australia and Nigeria against interfering in
Zimbabwe as he accepted the credentials of their new ambassadors, deadbc
reported last week. Receiving the representatives at one of his many residences
mugabe made reference to the 1972-80 war to end white racist rule in former
Rhodesia, telling the officials: "We will turn our people into guerrillas again
should the need arise. So leave us alone." What the small dictator is failing to
understand is that he himself is already turning strategic groups of patriotic
Zimbabweans into guerrillas by his heavy-handed governance. The NGO bill is one
such example. It is obviously far more effective for civic groups to go
underground to continue their important work unhindered by the clutches of
paranoid baba chatunga. Even as we write this Zvakwana has received news from
two organisations that have vowed to continue even by using subversive
means.
Simuka!
Rambai kuyanikwa pamutariko nechihurumende
chiripo. Onai iyezvino tatosvava! Chiiko chavari kutiitira kunze kwekutipa
nzara, urombo, dzidzo isakakodzera, nezvipatara zvisina utano hwakanaka. Nguva
yakwana yekuti tichinje zvinhu.
Todiniko?
Ngatirambe hutongi huripo husingade
kusimudzira hupenyu hwedu isu veruzhinji. Ngatibatanei munharaunda medu
tichitsigirana muna zvose.
Simuka iwe, taurirana nekudzidzisana nevamwe, uwane nhanho yaungatore
kuti ramangwana redu tese rive rakanaka.
"Nguva yake yakwana"
Activists in high-density
areas have handed out thousands of pegs carrying Zvakwana messages. And, in
solidarity, shopkeepers have been hanging strings of pegs outside their places.
The message is clear - don't let yourself be hung out to dry like a piece of
meat - Get Up!
Big pom
poms to our religious leaders for condemning political and social
injustice
While
we see religious leaders speaking out about the abuses of the zanu pf government
we in Zvakwana are wondering how many ordinary Zimbabweans are concerned that
they are compromising their religious beliefs by not Getting Up and Standing Up
to mugabe's tyranny? Have you evr considered disobedience to authority? Remember
that non-cooperation is a very peaceful and quiet way to stand on the right side
of justice. Maybe you don't want to go out on the street (yet) but there are
other ways to destabilise the regime. We are pleased to be receiving very many
emails from members of Zimbabwe Republic Police who are eager to receive our
information on non-violent opposition to this government that is so busy abusing
us. It is clear to see that one day when the tables turn and our brothers and
sisters in the ZRP are asked to chase us and fire tiger at us, they will join us
rather than side with evil.
Some personal questions . .
. to roll about in your minds
- Would you have defied
Hitler's decrees and refused to turn Jewish neighbours over to S.S.
troops?
- Would you carry Bibles into
a country where it was forbidden to possess such?
- Would you defy the law of
military conscription and refuse to participate in war?
- Would you disobey the law
and refuse to pay taxes to a government that was using them wrongfully or for
evil purposes?
- Would you disobey the law
in order to educate your children in the manner you regard to be best for
them?
Civil disobedience becomes a sacred duty when the State becomes
lawless or, which is the same thing, corrupt.
-
Gandhi
Soccer fever in the sunshine
city
Zimbabwean flags were flying everywhere on the day when our
Warriors tried to attack the quick booted Eagles from Nigeria. If only we had as
much energy to kick out this failing regime as we have when international teams
come to our place to play. If only we had more to celebrate! Instead we lost the
match, employment is hard to find, the little dictator is growing madder and the
MDC has pulled from the elections. Zvakwana has been thinking that it is high
time that we become proud of our flag again. Patriotism is not the domain of
zanu pf politics. Let us all go out and get a flag and put it in our places.
When we look at it let us remember to unite for the betterment of our nation and
to give the red card to the greedy chefs who have grown fat while the majority
lack even one decent meal per day.
|
Watch out for Zvakwana papers on the
streets! |
Zvakwana, Sokwanele, Enough!!
Make sure
you SPEAK OUT - keep discussion alive, keep information flowing.
Please remember Zvakwana
welcomes feedback, ideas and support for actions.
New Zimbabwe
Full text of Tsvangirai's anniversary speech
This is
an unedited speech delivered by MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai on the
occasion
of the Movement for Democratic Change's 5th anniversary
celebrations
Last
updated: 09/14/2004 06:59:54
"As we celebrate the fifth anniversary
of the Movement for Democratic
Change, we must place on the public record
that our major victory in the
past five years was in building a force that
has changed the political
landscape of Zimbabwe and ushered in an era of
active, multi-party politics
in this country.
After 19 years of
Independence the people turned their backs to empty calls
for empty
nationalism and declared that post-colonial Zimbabwe needs a new
dispensation; - a new dispensation that enhances the values of the
liberation struggle. We were born out of a desire to extend the ideals of
the liberation struggle. We are a social liberation force that is demanding
good governance. We fight for freedom, justice, solidarity, equity and
equality for all.
We have the vision. A vision of a new Zimbabwe
where there will be food
security and employment for every citizen. With
food security and employment
Zimbabweans shall have their dignity
restored.
We have won the battle of wills. We have shown that our vision
is superior
to that of the forces of tyranny and repression. We have won the
hearts and
minds of the majority. With a new vision; with a hygienic
political
beginning; with a vibrant and participatory society and; with an
innovative
political leadership, Zimbabwe can never be hungry
again.
September 11, 1999 shall remain permanently engraved in our memory
as the
day that changed Zimbabwe. On this day, the people took a bold and
unprecedented decision to position an alternative political formation, an
alternative political movement that represents the future. We said No! to
bad governance and we still stay no to bad governance.
We withered
the storm and continue to march on. We have remained focused on
the
objective. In recognition of your resolve, the world has accepted the
leadership of the MDC in the resolution of the political crisis in Zimbabwe.
SADC now agrees with the international community that an election without
violence and intimidation is a right for every Zimbabwean. SADC understands
and agrees that Zimbabwe needs a new beginning.
We told the world
five years ago that no one has the ability to destroy the
idea for change in
Zimbabwe. We have been proved right. Our support base now
transcends the
rural-urban divide. We are gaining a lot of support in
previously closed off
areas. The demand for active membership and membership
cards far exceeds our
expectations. Against all odds, the people have made
up their minds and
continue to demand change.
The myth of invincibility that has come to be
associated with the Robert
Mugabe's regime has been shattered. Autocracy and
tyranny under the mask of
nationalism has been dealt a fatal blow. The
principle doctrine of autocracy
on which the Zanu PF dictatorship nourished
has been smashed. The very
foundation of Mugabe's tyranny has been defeated.
It is a milestone, indeed.
This is your moment. You must celebrate your
victory. Through your
participation, the final chapter in the history of the
democratic struggle
in Zimbabwe is being written. As we walk the last mile
towards our freedom,
no force will deny us our rightful place in
Zimbabwe.
I know that there are great expectations from the nation. Our
membership,
our supporters and our sympathizers as well as the public are
therefore
eagerly awaiting a positive outcome of the final phase in this
struggle.
We must congratulate ourselves as well as our civic partners on
the occasion
of this victory. The victory is ours, born out of the
collective sacrifice
of the democratic forces. We have been vindicated. We
are marching on.
Our party has grown to impressive levels. The party has
12 functioning
provinces and 120 districts, complete with elected
representatives and
staff. Our head office in the centre of Harare is the
busiest political
office in Zimbabwe, complete with a variety of departments
dealing with
administration, legal matters, organizing, social welfare,
security and
information and publicity. Our presence in parliament has
protected
democracy from being adulterated by those of a tyrannical
disposition. Our
people driven local councils have advanced in introducing
democracy at the
local government level.
As you are all aware, we
have suspended participation in all forms of
elections until the Mugabe
regime puts in place mechanisms in line with a
recent SADC electoral
framework agreed to in Mauritius.
The challenge facing SADC rests on the
implementation of the latest protocol
on elections. SADC must prove that it
has teeth. SADC must push Mugabe to
honour his word, and to do so early
enough for us to have our elections in
March. It is a crucial test of
sincerity on their part. Mugabe and Zanu PF
are holding SADC to ransom,
soiling perceptions about the region and
delaying SADC's political and
economic advancement.
As Paul Berenger, the Prime Minister of Mauritius
and the new SADC chairman
said, the region expects to engage international,
multi-lateral finance
institutions and influential regional blocks with a
single SADC voice soon
after free and fair elections in Zimbabwe in March.
The entire region is
waiting for the regime in Zimbabwe to start moving in
the right direction
for the benefit of all.
The significance of the
Mauritius declaration is that it confirms the
illegitimacy of the regime and
its partisan national institutions. The
crisis in the country pervades all
national institutions and can only be
resolved through national
dialogue.
Our message from the people was very clear: Mugabe must move
fast to put his
house in order. He must make use of that window of
opportunity to correct
the anomalies in our electoral system, identified and
set right in Mauritius
by SADC. He must show us and demonstrate to the
region that he is willing to
move; to translate that spirit of Mauritius on
the ground. We stand ready to
compliment in this process.
The onus is
on the regime to play ball. They have no choice. They must end
violence;
they must end intimidation; they must open the space for the MDC
on public
radio and on television. They must place the running of elections
in the
hands of an impartial electoral body approved by the whole nation. As
things
stand, they are wasting time.
The regime must openly acknowledge the
existence of a political crisis and
allow for a smooth transition. A
unilateral decision by Zanu PF will not
carry the spirit of the Mauritius
declaration. The cosmetic changes they are
proposing are designed for the
preservation of the pillars of dictatorship.
Together we will not allow them
the space to play games with the people's
mandate.
The democratic
forces in the country must be congratulated for staying
focused in-spite of
attempts to divide them. Unity and solidarity of the
democratic forces at
this critical stage will derail the regime's strategy
aimed at refocusing
attention away from the fundamental issues.
As the nation celebrates the
fifth anniversary of the MDC we remember the
challenge facing us. We need a
new beginning. We need a new Zimbabwe. We are
ready to start afresh. We
pledge to work towards full employment. We pledge
to create a situation
where no one will ever go hungry.
May I conclude by saying we are on the
winning track. Together, we are
driving the political agenda. Zimbabwe is on
the verge of massive and
decisive change. Don't lose out. Be part of that
agenda."
Daily News online edition
Plight of Africa's opposition
parties
Date:14-Sep, 2004
ABDOULAYE Wade of
Senegal and John Kufuor of Ghana have a lot in
common with John Fundi of
Cameroon.
For years, they led opposition parties which didn't seem
to have a
hope in hell of ever achieving power. But they eventually did. And
Fundi
may, too, if the long-serving president of Cameroon, Paul Biya, ever
loosens
his grip on power to the extent of allowing a free and fair
election.
In Zambia, last week, President Levy Mwanawasa, said he
could not hold
elections in 2006 because Zambia did not have the resources
to arrange for
the drafting of a new constitution, a referendum on that new
constitution,
and an election after that.
He has a point; the
country's economy is not exactly cruising at a
comfortable, safe speed.
Despite the help of the white commercial farmers
kicked out of Zimbabwe and
now farming in that country, it will be some time
before Zambia's economy
can sustain massive expenditure of that kind with no
profits at the end of
the rainbow.
The opposition in Zambia has, predictably, protested
at this delay.
Mwanawasa will know how they feel; his party, the Movement
for Multiparty
Democracy (MMD) had the same problem with the UNIP government
of former
president Kenneth Kaunda.
But when elections were
eventually held in 1991, Kaunda lost to
Frederick Chiluba, in what was
hailed by many as a free and fair contest.
Of course, what Chiluba
did with his victory is another story
altogether. Opposition parties in
Africa have generally faced obstacles in
their quest for power which related
mostly to the outright unwillingness of
the incumbents to give it
up.
What must give opposition leaders such as Zimbabwe's Morgan
Tsvangirai, the courage to continue must be the stories of eventual success
recorded by Abdoulaye Wade and John Kufuor.
Of course, nobody
in Zimbabwe is under any illusions about the
likelihood of Zanu PF giving up
easily. This is a party born out of the
liberation struggle.
It
only very reluctantly agreed to share power with its erstwhile
partner in
the Patriotic Front, PF-Zapu. If the despotic clique in the
leadership had
had its way, Zanu would have ruled the country alone, right
from the
beginning.
To expect a party led by a power-hungry man such as
President Robert
Mugabe to voluntarily give up power after a peaceful, free
and fair
election - as Kenneth Kaunda did in Zambia - may be a little
optimistic.
Only when the people as a whole are so courageous as to
unequivocally
state their choice in massive numbers at the polls would
Mugabe concede
defeat - as he did in the 2000 constitutional
referendum.
The task for the MDC is an unenviable one. They must
campaign so
courageously and fearlessly that an election result will emerge
which not a
single Zanu PF leader would dare question.
It has
to be the total annihilation of the party which claims its
right to rule
this country forever on the grounds that it brought
independence and will
not give up easily.
Yet it is the people who must respond with
courage and fearlessness to
the challenge.
After all, it is
their independence - not Zanu PF's - which is at
stake. -Editorial
Daily News online edition
Border jumpers accused of fanning crime
in Beitbridge
Date:14-Sep, 2004
MUSINA - Residents
here are blaming border jumpers who are caught and
dumped at the Beitbridge
police station by South African authorities for the
rampant prostitution and
high crime rate at the border town.
The residents told The Daily
News Online at the weekend that the
border jumpers were responsible for high
incidents of crime and prostitution
in the town.
"When they are
dumped at the police station here, they will be broke
and they are released
without any money or travel warrants. That is why some
of them end up
resorting to crime and prostitution to raise money to go back
home," said
Fanos Gwendu of Dulibadzimu high density suburb.
He said crimes
such as house-breaking and pick-pocketing were rife in
the town because
there were lots of strange people being dumped in the town
daily by South
African police.
Another resident who asked not to be named said the
police were to
blame for the current state of affairs in
Beitbridge.
He said: "Police must ensure that all those that are
caught and
brought back to Zimbabwe are given travel warrants or money so
that they can
go back to their homes."
Four tuckloads of
Zimbabweans who cross the border into South Africa
illegally are brought to
Beitbridge police station everyday.
Upon arrival at the police
station, the border jumpers, as they are
popularly know are just recorded in
police books and released without any
form of assistance.
While
it was the men who resorted to theft and housebreaking, the
women quickly
turn to prostitution. The ladies found clients easily among
the truck
drivers who spend days at the border awaiting clearance by custom
officials.
"As you can see there are a lot of lodges here and
booking houses
where this business takes place," said Manuel Chikovo, a
vendor who operates
at Dulibandzimu bus terminus.
A survey
around the town showed that there were many, some of them
charging hourly
rates of $30 000 per room and $140 000 per night.
A police officer
at the station confirmed that they received
Zimbabweans from their South
African counterparts every day but could not
release crime statistics in the
area without permission from his superior
who was off duty.
Thousands of unemployed Zimbabweans cross the border into South Africa
illegally in search of jobs. Although some of them succeed, others are
arrested and held in holding camps such as Lindela in Johannesburg and later
deported.
An estimated 2.5 million Zimbabweans work and live in
South Africa,
most of them illegally.
JUSTICE FOR AGRICULTURE URGENT LEGAL COMMUNIQUÉ - 13th September
2004
Email: justiceforagriculture@zol.co.zw;
jag@mango.zw
Internet: www.justiceforagriculture.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
LEGAL
COMMUNIQUÉ
As promised, herewith the final version of the recently
gazetted Farm
Equipment and Materials Act.
Please take particular note
of Section 14 amendments to section 5 of the
Land Acquisition Act also
included in this act and referred to in Fridays
Legal
Communiqué.
______________________________________________
Commencement:
Friday 3rd September, 2004 (date of publication in
Government
Gazette)
CHAPTER 18:23
ACQUISITION OF FARM EQUIPMENT OR
MATERIAL ACT
Act 7/2004
ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS
Section
1.
Title.
2. Interpretation.
3. Prohibition on destruction, etc., of farm
equipment or material.
4. Identification of farm equipment or material.
5.
Valuation of farm equipment or material.
6. Acquisition of farm equipment or
material by acquiring authority.
7. Compulsory acquisition of farm equipment
or material.
8. Application for order confirming acquisition of farm
equipment or
material.
9. Payment for farm equipment or
material.
10. Use of acquired farm equipment or material.
11.
Impersonation.
12. Regulations.
13. Transitional provision.
14.
Amendment of section 5 of Cap. 20:10.
ACT
To provide for the
acquisition of farm equipment or material not being used
for agricultural
purposes; to amend section 5 of the Land Acquisition Act
[Chapter 20:10]; and
to provide for matters connected with or incidental to
the
foregoing..
ENACTED by the President and Parliament of
Zimbabwe.
1 Title
This Act may be cited as the Acquisition of Farm
Equipment or Material Act
[Chapter 18:23].
2 Interpretation
(1)
In this Act¾
"acquiring authority" means the Minister of Special Affairs
in the
President's Office responsible for Lands, Land Reform and Resettlement
or
any other Minister to whom the President may from time to time assign
the
administration of this Act; "designated valuation officer" means a
person
who is designated as a valuation officer in terms of section five;
"farm
equipment" means movables used for agricultural purposes on
any
agricultural land acquired for resettlement purposes under the Land
Reform
Programme, including irrigation equipment not embedded in the
ground,
tractors, ploughs, disc harrows, trailers, combine harvesters, pumps
not
permanently attached to the land, sprinklers, risers, movable
storage
facilities and Modrho tobacco curers; "farm material" means material
used
for agricultural purposes on any agricultural land acquired
for
resettlement purposes under the Land Reform Programme, including
seed,
fertiliser, farm feed and chemicals intended for the destruction of
any
noxious plant or insect or for the prevention, treatment or cure of
any
disease, infestation or other unhealthy or unfavourable condition
of
livestock, poultry, domesticated animals and plants; "identify",
in
relation to farm equipment or material or any item thereof, means
include
in an inventory compiled in terms of section four; "Land Reform
Programme"
means the Land Reform Resettlement Programme and Implementation
Plan (Phase
2), published in April, 2001 (as re-issued and amended from time
to time),
in connection with the programme of acquiring agricultural land
for
resettlement purposes which commenced under the terms of the
Land
Acquisition Act [Chapter 20:10] on the 23rd May, 2000. (2) Any word
or
expression which has not been defined in subsection (1) and to which
a
meaning has been assigned in any provision of the Land Acquisition
Act
[Chapter 20:10] shall have the same meaning when used in this Act.
3
Prohibition on destruction, etc., of farm equipment or material .(1)
No
owner or holder of farm equipment or material shall wilfully
demolish,
damage, alter or in any other manner impair the farm equipment or
material,
or cause any other person to demolish, damage, alter or in any
other manner
impair it, without the permission in writing of the acquiring
authority.
(2) An owner or holder of farm equipment or material who
contravenes
subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and liable
to^×
(a) a fine^×
(i) equivalent to so much of the amount of the
impairment caused to farm
equipment or material as is ascertainable in
monetary terms; or
(ii) not exceeding level ten;
whichever is the
greater amount; or
(b) imprisonment for a period not exceeding two
years; or to both such
fine and such imprisonment.
4 Identification of
farm equipment or material
(1) Any duly authorised representative or
employee of the acquiring
authority may enter any land or premises at any
reasonable time and do such
acts thereon as are reasonably necessary to
ascertain^×
(a) whether there is on the land or premises any farm
equipment or
material not currently being used for agricultural purposes on
any
agricultural land; and
(b) the owner or holder of such farm equipment
or material; and
(c) the items of such farm equipment or material on the
land or premises;
and
(d) the condition of such farm equipment or
material and its suitability
for agricultural purposes.
(2) The
acquiring authority shall provide each of its authorised
representatives or
employees with a certificate indicating his or her
authority for the purposes
of this section and the authorised
representative or employee shall produce
such certificate to any interested
person on demand. (
3) Upon
entering any land or premises the duly authorised representative or
employee
of the acquiring authority shall, if he or she has reasonable
cause to
believe that there is any farm equipment or material on the land
or premises
not currently being used for agricultural purposes on any
agricultural land,
request the owner or occupier thereof to compile an
inventory of such farm
equipment or material on the land or premises:
Provided that^×
(a)
the owner or holder of any farm equipment or material shall have the
burden
of proving, to the satisfaction of a duly authorised representative
or
employee of the acquiring authority, that such equipment or material
is
currently being used for agricultural purposes on any agricultural
land;
(b) if the owner or occupier thereof refuses to compile an inventory
in
terms of this subsection, the duly authorised representative or employee
of
the acquiring authority may proceed to compile an inventory of items
which,
in the opinion of the representative or employee, comprise farm
equipment
or material not currently being used for agricultural purposes on
any
agricultural land;
(4) Any person who, after farm equipment or
material has
been identified in terms of subsection (3), sells, donates,
demolishes,
damages, alters or in any other manner impairs or disposes of
such farm
equipment or material without the permission in writing of the
acquiring
authority, shall be guilty of an offence and liable
to^×
(a) a fine^×
(i) equivalent to so much of the amount of the
impairment caused to, or
loss of, the farm equipment or material as is
ascertainable in monetary
terms; or
(ii) not exceeding level ten;
whichever is the greater amount; or
(b) imprisonment for a period not
exceeding two years;
or to both such fine and such imprisonment.
5
Valuation of farm equipment or material
(1) The acquiring authority may
designate as a valuation officer any member
of the Public Service who, in the
acquiring authority's opinion, is
qualified to carry out valuations of farm
equipment or material and to
exercise any other functions of a designated
valuation officer in terms of
this Act. (2) The acquiring authority shall
provide every designated
valuation officer with a certificate indicating his
or her appointment and
the designated valuation officer shall produce such
certificate to any
interested person on demand. (3) A designated valuation
officer shall, at
the request of the acquiring authority or his or her duly
authorised
representative or employee, carry out the valuation of any farm
equipment
or material identified in terms of section four. 6 Acquisition of
farm
equipment or material by acquiring authority (1) Subject to this Act,
the
acquiring authority may, either by agreement or compulsorily, acquire
any
farm equipment or material not currently being used for
agricultural
purposes on any agricultural land, where the acquisition is
reasonably
necessary for the utilisation of that farm equipment or material
on any
agricultural land. (2) The acquiring authority shall give not less
than
seven days' notice of the intention to acquire any farm equipment
or
material to the person owning or holding the farm equipment or
material.
(3) The notice referred to in subsection (2) shall be served in
person:
Provided that, where the owner or holder of the farm equipment or
material
cannot be located, the notice shall be published in the Gazette and
in a
newspaper circulating in the area in which the farm equipment or
material
to be acquired is situated. 7 Compulsory acquisition of farm
equipment or
material (1) After the identification and valuation of farm
equipment or
material in terms of sections four and five respectively, the
acquiring
authority may, if there is no agreement for the purchase of the
farm
equipment or material concerned^×
(a) acquire the farm equipment or
material by making an order compulsorily
acquiring the farm equipment or
material for compensation equivalent to the
value placed on the farm
equipment or material by the designated valuation
officer; and
(b) serve
on the owner or holder of the farm equipment or material a copy
of the order
referred to in paragraph (a). (2) An acquisition order made in
terms of
subsection (1) shall contain^×
(a) a description of the farm equipment or
material to be acquired; and
(b) the compensation payable for the
acquisition of the farm equipment or
material. (3) An acquisition order made
in terms of subsection (1) shall be
accompanied by a notice in writing
inviting the owner or holder to indicate
within fourteen days whether he or
she contests the acquisition of the farm
equipment or material or the
compensation fixed therefor. (4) Upon service
of an acquisition order on the
owner or holder in terms of subsection (1),
ownership of the farm equipment
or material shall vest in the acquiring
authority, who shall thereupon have
the power to take immediate possession
of the farm equipment or material. 8
Application for order confirming
acquisition of farm equipment or material
(1) Where the owner or holder of
any farm equipment or material compulsorily
acquired in terms of subsection
(1) of section seven contests the acquisition
of the farm equipment or
material or the compensation fixed therefor, the
acquiring authority shall,
not later than thirty days after the acquisition,
apply to the
Administrative Court for an order confirming the acquisition of
the farm
equipment or material. (2) An application in terms of subsection (1)
shall
be accompanied by^×
(a) a copy of the acquisition order;
and
(b) copies of the notices served or published, as the case may be,
in
terms of subsection (2) of section six and subsection (3) of section
seven.
(3) The Administrative Court shall grant an order referred to in
subsection
(1) where it is satisfied^×
(a) that the acquisition of the
farm equipment or material is reasonably
necessary for the utilisation of
that farm equipment or material on any
agricultural land; and
(b) that
the farm equipment or material was not, on the date of its
identification,
being used for agricultural purposes on any agricultural
land; and
(c)
subject to subsection (4), that the compensation fixed by the
acquiring
authority is reasonable in the circumstances. (4) In granting an
order
confirming the acquisition of farm equipment or material, the
Administrative
Court may fix any compensation that it deems reasonable in
the circumstances.
(5) Where the Administrative Court refuses to grant an
order confirming the
acquisition of farm equipment or material, it shall
order the acquiring
authority to return the farm equipment or material to
the owner or holder
thereof. (6) Where the owner or holder of the farm
equipment or material
concerned or the acquiring authority is dissatisfied
with any decision of the
Administrative Court, whether in relation to the
acquisition of the farm
equipment or material or the compensation fixed
therefor, either party may
appeal to the Supreme Court against that
decision. 9 Payment for farm
equipment or material (1) The acquiring
authority shall pay to the owner or
holder of any farm equipment or
material acquired in terms of this Act the
compensation offered, agreed or
fixed therefor, as the case may be, within a
reasonable time and, in any
event, where the farm equipment or material is
compulsorily acquired^×
(a) at least one quarter of the compensation payable
shall be paid at the
time the equipment or material concerned is acquired, or
within thirty days
thereafter; and
(b) the balance of the compensation
payable shall be paid within^×
(i) five years after the acquisition thereof
in the case of farm
equipment;
(ii) one year after the acquisition
thereof in the case of farm material.
(2) The compensation to be paid to the
owner or holder of any farm
equipment or material in terms of subsection (1)
shall accrue interest at
the prescribed rate from date of acquisition
thereof. 10 Use of acquired
farm equipment or material Any farm equipment or
material acquired in terms
of this Act shall vest in the State for the
benefit of the Land Reform
Programme and shall not be sold or otherwise
disposed of to any private
individual, institution or corporation. 11
Impersonation Any person who,
for the purpose of gaining entry into any land
or premises, falsely holds
himself or herself out to be a duly authorised
representative or employee
of the acquiring authority or designated valuation
officer, shall be guilty
of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding
level ten or imprisonment
for a period not exceeding two years or both such
fine and such
imprisonment. 12 Regulations The Minister may make regulations
providing
for all matters which by this Act are required or permitted to
be
prescribed or which, in his or her opinion, are necessary or convenient
to
be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to this Act.
13
Transitional provision (1) Anything done in terms of any provision of
the
Presidential Powers (Temporary Measures) (Acquisition of Farm Equipment
or
Material) Regulations, 2003, published in Statutory Instrument 273A
of
2003, shall be deemed to have been done in terms of the
corresponding
provision of this Act. (2) This Act shall be deemed to have
come into
operation on the 15th December, 2003. 14 Amendment of section 5 of
Cap.
20:10 (1) Section 5 ("Preliminary notice of compulsory acquisition") of
the
Land Acquisition Act [Chapter 20:10] ("the principal Act") is
amended¾
(a) in subsection (4) by the deletion of "two years" wherever it
occurs
and the substitution of "ten years";
(b) in subsection (9) in
paragraph (c) by the deletion from subparagraph
(i) of "thirty days" and the
substitution of "five days". (2) Subsection
(4) of section 5 of the principal
Act as amended by this Act shall apply¾
(a) to every notice issued in terms
of subsection (1) or (3) of section 5
of the principal Act before the date of
commencement of this Act and in
force at such date;
(b) to a fresh notice
issued in terms of subsection (1) (or (3) of section
5 of the principal Act
after the date of commencement of this Act in
respect of land subjected to a
previous notice which has lapsed before
such
date.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE
JAG TEAM
JAG Hotlines:
(091) 261 862 If you are in trouble or need
advice,
(011) 205 374
(011) 863 354 please don't hesitate to contact us
-
(011) 431 068
we're here to help!
263
4 799 410 Office Lines
Zim Online
POLITICAL VIOLENCE, STATE REPRESSION PERSIST SAYS HUMAN RIGHTS
GROUP
Tues 14 September 2004
HARARE - Three people died because
of political violence since the
beginning of the year, while more than one
hundred women and seven babies
were illegally arrested or tortured by the
police in June alone, according
to the Zimbabwe Human Rights
Forum.
The Forum, which brings together 17 of the biggest human
rights and
pro-democracy organisations in the country, monitors human rights
abuses in
the country and issues regular reports detailing specific cases of
politically-motivated violence, torture or arrest.
In its
latest report released late last week, the Forum said two men
Alexander
Chigega and Francis Chinozvina, all opposition Movement for
Democratic
Change (MDC) party supporters were killed by suspected ruling
ZANU PF party
militants in January and March respectively.
Another man, Shemi
Chambarara, was also murdered for political reasons
during the same period
but the Forum said it was not known which political
party he was affiliated
to.
As in most cases in the past involving politically-motivated
murders,
none of the culprits have to date been arrested or
prosecuted.
In June police and agents of the state's spy Central
Intelligence
Organisation intensified a crackdown on the opposition and
organised civic
society. The security agents arrested about 130 women in
that month alone
accusing them of breaching state security laws by attending
illegal
meetings.
The police also accused the women of seeking
to overthrow President
Robert Mugabe and his government.
Under
the government's draconian Public Order and Security Act,
Zimbabweans must
first notify the police before gathering for political
meetings.
The women, most of whom were released without being
charged, were
arrested while attending meetings organised by the Women of
Zimbabwe Arise
(WOZA) group which were meant to discuss ways of uplifting
women.
Under the state's security laws, organisers of such meetings
need not
inform the police first before calling them.
In one
incident on 16 June, 43 members of the WOZA group were
attending a meeting
to discuss self-help projects at Matshobana Hall in
Zimbabwe's second
largest city of Bulawayo when armed police stormed the
hall and arrested the
women.
The Forum said in its report: "The women were taken to
Western
Commonage Police Station (in the city). At the Police Station, the
43 women
were locked up in what the police called the yard. A count was done
- 43
women and 7 babies were recorded and they were told to wait for
officers
from the Law and Order Maintenance section."
Most of
the women and all the babies were released after several hours
in detention
but four women were kept in jail overnight. State prosecutors
refused to
charge the women the following day forcing the police to release
them.
In yet another of the several cases of state security
forces harassing
innocent citizens, the report details how the police
arrested 11 women who
were part of a group of 73 women who were marching
along Bulawayo's Fife
Street to mark the United Nations World Refugee
Day.
The women were kept in jail for three nights before being
taken to
court where they were charged with breaching the Miscellaneous
Offences Act.
They were released on free bail.
The Forum says
during the period under review the police harassed
supporters of the MDC and
banned the party's meetings.
ZANU PF supporters also assaulted MDC
supporters for attending the
opposition party's meetings or for wearing its
regalia.
The report comes as MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai last
weekend called
on Southern African Development Community (SADC) leaders to
pressure Mugabe
to uphold norms and standards for free and fair elections
agreed by the
region last month.
The regional electoral
standards require the setting up of independent
commissions to run
elections. Electoral processes are required to be
sufficiently transparent
while human and individual rights must be upheld
during
elections.
Tsvangirai and his MDC have already announced that they
will not take
party in next year's crucial parliamentary poll unless Mugabe
sufficiently
adhered to the SADC electoral norms and standards.
ZimOnline
Zim Online
Reserve Bank floats US$10 million bond to boost forex
reserves
Tues 14 September 2004
HARARE - The Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe is floating US$10 million worth
of bonds in yet another bid by the
bank to improve the country's dangerously
depleted foreign currency
reserves.
"The Reserve Bank hereby invites resident and
non-resident
Zimbabweans, as well as other interested foreign investors, to
subscribe for
the one year foreign currency bonds," Zimbabwe's central bank
said in a
statement last week.
Minimum subscription amounts for
the bonds should not be less than
US$100 and should be in multiples of
US$100, 200, 500, 1 000, 5 000 and 10
000. The offer, which opened last
Thursday, will close on Wednesday next
week.
The bank said:
"Interest on the bonds shall be 12 months (at the)
London Inter-Bank Offer
Rate plus a six percent margin, payable on maturity
at the Reserve Bank in
Harare by bank draft or through telegraphic transfer
to the credit of a bank
of the bond holder or his/her nominee."
Special features of the
bonds include a Reserve Bank guarantee that
the bonds are redeemable/payable
on maturity and that settlement of the
principal plus interest will be made
in US dollars. The bonds are also
freely tradable among
investors.
The bond and interest there on are payable out of the
general foreign
currency reserves and assets of the Reserve
Bank.
The bond offer by the Reserve Bank comes as Zimbabwe's fuel
crisis
worsened again in the last three weeks with fuel stations across the
country
running dry because there is no hard cash to pay foreign suppliers
of fuel.
The state-owned National Oil Company of Zimbabwe, which
buys fuel in
bulk for state institutions and key sectors such as health and
agriculture,
is unable to repay US$171 million it owes foreign oil companies
some of whom
have now cut supplies.
Private oil firms that buy
fuel for ordinary Zimbabweans are also
unable to raise foreign currency to
pay suppliers.
Hospitals have gone for months without essential
drugs also because
there is no hard cash to pay foreign pharmaceutical firms
that manufacture
the drugs.
A foreign currency auction market
also introduced by the central bank
earlier this year and where hard cash is
sold to the highest bidder has
flopped also because rates on the auction
floors remain unattractive.
For example, out of the 3 555 bids for
foreign currency on the auction
market for the past three weeks, only 564
bids amounting to US$30 million
were allotted hard cash.
Money
transfer agencies, that are running the Homelink scheme, told
ZimOnline that
volumes of foreign currency sent home by Zimbabwean exiles
through the
scheme plummeted further after the Reserve Bank barred
recipients in the
country from getting their money in hard cash. ZimOnline
Zim Online
MDC drums up regional support
Tues 14 September
2004
HARARE - The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party will
soon hit
the road to drum up regional support for electoral reform in
Zimbabwe.
MDC spokesman, Paul Themba-Nyathi yesterday said the
opposition party
will dispatch delegations to Southern Africa Development
Community (SADC)
leaders to explain the party's decision to shun next
March's parliamentary
elections unless the country's political space is
sufficiently democratised.
MDC president Morgan Tsvangirai last
week told foreign diplomats in
Harare that his party will boycott next
year's polls unless the ruling ZANU
PF party adopts genuine electoral
reforms.
"We want to make the regional leaders understand our
position and the
situation in this country so that they won't be hoodwinked
by the Mugabe
regime into believing that it is reforming," Nyathi
said.
The MDC decision to boycott the election has sparked heated
debate in
political circles. The MDC says it will explain to SADC leaders
reasons
behind the decision to shun next year's polls.
Meanwhile, Zanu PF is forging ahead with the proposed electoral
amendments,
which have already been dismissed as "piecemeal" by the MDC.
Justice, Legal
and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Patrick Chinamasa said
yesterday the
electoral reform amendment Bill will be brought to Parliament
soon.
ZimOnline
Xinhua
Senior official guilty of demanding bribe jailed in
Zimbabwe
www.chinaview.cn
2004-09-14 14:47:38
HARARE, Sept. 14 (Xinhuanet) -- A
senior law officer found guilty
of demanding a 200,000 Zimbabwean dollars
(about 36 US dollars) bribe from a
convicted person was jailed Monday for
breaching the Prevention of
Corruption Act, local media reported
Tuesday.
Nickiel Mushangwe had denied the charges when his
trial opened,but
was ruled guilty by Harare regional magistrate Sandra
Nhau.
He was sentenced to one year and eight months'
imprisonment butsix
months were conditionally suspended.
Mushangwe's relatives, who were following the proceedings,
weptopenly in
court as the magistrate handed down the sentence.
Mushangwe,
clad in remand prison garb, remained numb in the dock
and was quickly
escorted back into the holding cells by a prison guard.
The
court heard that sometime last year Raphel Rupere was
convicted of assault
and causing grievous bodily harm and he appealed
against both conviction and
sentence at the High Court.
In October last year, Mushangwe,
whose duties as a public officer
included processing bail applications and
appeals by convicted persons, was
handling Rupere's case.
Mushangwe then processed Rupere's application and demanded 200,000
Zimbabwean dollars bribe in return for successfully deliveringhis
appeal.
He solicited for the bribe through Rupere's lawyer
Donald
Mashingaidze, who supplied Mushangwe with his client's phone
number.
Mushangwe isn't the first senior official thrown into
jail for
corruption. Since the anti-corruption crackdown began in December
last year,
several high-profile individuals have been arrested formoney
laundering,
unauthorized externalization of funds, and illegally dealing in
gold and
other precious minerals.
Prominent people who have
been arrested include former ministerof
finance and economic development
Chris Kuruneri, former minister of lands
and agriculture Kumbirai Kangai and
the ruling Zimbabwe African National
Union-Patriotic Front Central Committee
member James Makamba, etc.
President Robert Mugabe has
repeatedly warned that the
anti-corruption crackdown will not spare anyone
who committed crimes,
including top government officials. Enditem
MDC
PRESS
14
September 2004
The
Opening of the Pan-African Parliament Is an Historic Moment for
Africa
The official
opening of the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) on Thursday represents an historic
moment for Africa. It signifies the determined
progress we are making as a continent to chart a new beginning and collectively
build an Africa that is characterised by democracy,
stability and sustainable development.
Since the
inauguration of the African Union in August 2002, Africa has started to build an
institutional framework capable of nurturing the unity and solidarity that is
necessary to break the shackles of the past and make real progress towards
achieving the goals of the African renaissance and ending our marginalisation in
an increasingly global world.
The PAP, is an integral part of this framework. Its pursuit
of its key objectives, which include ‘promoting the
principles of human rights and democracy in Africa’, will increase
the pressure on those member states who continue to fall foul of the democratic
standards implicit in the AU’s Constitutive Act, the
Africa Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the AU Declaration on the
Principles Governing Democratic Elections in
Africa.
Moreover,
the PAP’s role as a forum in which parliamentarians from
across Africa can meet to debate and discuss the
issues of the day, will enable the people of Africa to have a voice and participate in
the development of the continent.
This is a
sign of our increasing democratic maturity. We now have an institution with the
potential to make a real, positive, difference to the lives of ordinary
Africans.
The
MDC, through its representatives in the
PAP, aims to play its part in assisting
this institution fulfil its potential.
Paul
Themba Nyathi
Secretary
for Information and Publicity
From The Mail on Sunday (UK), 12 September
ECB ban talks with
Zimbabwe protesters
England players ordered not to speak to leading
pressure group
By Peter Hayler
England players will not be
allowed to meet Zimbabwe protest groups before
deciding whether to be
available for the controversial autumn tour. The
England Cricket Board are
determined the trip should go ahead and are
opposed to any contacts. ECB's
new policy contrasts sharply with former
skipper Nasser Hussain's move last
year when he told his players to find out
everything they could about
President Robert Mugabe's regime before England's
World Cup game in Harare.
A letter has been received by the ECB from the
Zimbabwe Defence and Aid Fund
UK - it is also addressed to all players
concerned - detailing allegations
of police torture of those protesting
against matches played in Zimbabwe
during last year's tournament following
Zimbabwe's decision to abandon their
tie. In the letter the group talks of
'brutal experiences' suffered by
protesters 'which are simply shocking.' A
document enclosed with the letter
refers to arrests, torture and rape in
custody. The organisation, considered
a credible action group representing
opposition to Mugabe, told the players
they had hoped to address them in
person, but that despite several requests,
the ECB have decided not to
permit us to brief you in person, hence this
letter.'
When confirming on Friday their intention that England would
play five
one-day matches in Zimbabwe between November 26 and December 5,
the ECB
indicated their preference that all players should make themselves
available. But, although they stressed no individual would be penalised for
not going, a Board spokesman last night said the possibility of players
being allowed to meet pressure groups to discuss the situation in Zimbabwe
in detail was 'extremely unlikely'. ZDAF wrote: 'Eighteen months ago, the
England team chose not to play their World Cup fixture against Zimbabwe.
Other teams did make the journey north from South Africa; two matches were
decided in Harare, and three at the Queen's Ground in Bulawayo. The document
we have enclosed was compiled shortly after the Bulawayo matches. It details
what happened to some of the Zimbabweans who attended those games, and who,
without disrupting play in any way, exercised their constitutional right to
peaceful protest. The brutal experiences related by these people, who are
only a sample of those arrested at the time, are simply
shocking.'
The note claimed the situation in Zimbabwe was far worse
that it was a year
ago. It went on: 'This letter is not intended to scare or
threaten. The
England touring party is highly unlikely to face any physical
danger, and
will be feted by the ZCU and the government. But if you are one
of those who
travel to Zimbabwe, remember what is going on behind the
sight-screen.' The
ECB spokesman said: 'We have received many letters from
pressure groups but
we have made it clear that safety and security are the
only issues we have.
The moral concerns are off limits. It is unlikely that
any pressure group
would be allowed to meet the players in person.' Richard
Bevan, the Team
England representative from the Professional Cricketers'
Association said:
'The players are aware of the atrocities being alleged but
perhaps these
claims should be put to the ICC rather than the ECB.' On the
field, England
duly polished off sub-standard Zimbabwean opposition
yesterday in the
rain-affected opening match of the ICC Champions Trophy at
Edgbaston,
winning by 152 runs with 11 overs to spare. In the half-match
held over from
Friday, played in a near empty ground, Paul Collingwood
finished on 80 not
out as England made 299. Zimbabwe were bowled out for
147, Steve Harmison
taking 3-29 and Andrew Flintoff 3-11. England captain
Michael Vaughan later
said former Zimbabwe skipper Heath Streak, whose
sacking precipitated the
crisis in the game in his homeland, should be
playing in the tournament.
From IPS, 13 September
Battered and bruised, the main opposition
party takes stock
Wilson Johwa
Bulawayo - Zimbabwe's main
opposition party, the Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC), celebrated its
fifth anniversary over the weekend. However,
ceremonies to mark the event
were overshadowed by the question mark hanging
over the party's
participation in next year's parliamentary election. In his
anniversary
message, MDC President Morgan Tsvangirai said the party had
dealt a blow to
"the myth of invincibility that has come to be associated
with (President)
Robert Mugabe". "We must place on the public record that
our major victory
in the past five years was in building a force that has
changed the
political landscape of Zimbabwe and ushered in an era of active,
multi-party
politics in the country," he noted. In 2000, the MDC - then only
nine months
old - became the first opposition group to challenge the ruling
Zanu PF
party's vice-like grip on power by winning 57 of the 120 seats in
parliament. As 30 legislators are appointed by the president, the MDC would
have needed 76 seats to gain control of parliament - a body that has been
dominated by Zanu PF since Zimbabwe attained independence from Britain in
1980.
Since then, the MDC has lost six of its seats in
by-elections marked by the
political intimidation that has come to
characterize life in Zimbabwe over
the past five years - and which is
overwhelmingly directed against the
opposition. Last month, the Geneva-based
International Parliamentary Union
said government had done little to stop
youth militias linked to the ruling
party from persecuting and torturing MDC
parliamentarians. With only six
months to go before the 2005 poll,
Zimbabwe's courts have yet to rule on
appeals concerning 25 of the 37 seats
the party says were illegally won by
Zanu PF in 2000, due to violence and
intimidation by ruling party
supporters. Of the 12 seats already ruled on,
the court decided in favour of
the MDC for seven appeals - dismissing the
other five cases. The opposition
has also found itself in court over treason
charges filed against
Tsvangirai, who is awaiting a verdict on charges of
plotting to assassinate
Mugabe. If convicted, the MDC leader faces the death
penalty.
Partly as a result of intimidation, the party - a product of
the trade union
movement - has laid down a set of conditions for its
participation in the
2005 election. It is hoped that these conditions will
correct an electoral
process which is skewed in favour of the ruling party.
"We are preparing for
elections...What we did was to suspend participation,
but we did not boycott
the election," said Tsvangirai this weekend, while
addressing a rally in the
southern city of in Bulawayo. In addition to
operating in a violent
environment, the opposition also finds its activities
circumscribed by the
Public Order and Security Act - which requires that the
police approve all
meetings of a political nature. Under the equally
infamous Access to
Information and Protection of Privacy Act, Zimbabwe's
sole privately-owned
daily - The Daily News - was closed down. This has
created a situation where
public perceptions of the MDC are, by and large,
in the hands of the state
media - which typically portrays the party in a
negative light.
The MDC says it will not contest the 2005 poll if
government fails to reform
Zimbabwe's electoral system along principles
agreed by the Southern African
Development Community (SADC), at a two-day
summit held in Mauritius that
ended Aug. 17. These principles stipulate,
amongst other things, that the 13
SADC member states should allow opposition
parties to campaign freely. They
also require countries in the region to set
up impartial electoral
institutions. "SADC must push Mugabe to honour his
word, and do so early
enough to have our elections," said Tsvangirai in his
anniversary statement.
He has dismissed as cosmetic last week's announcement
by Harare that it was
going to establish an independent electoral commission
to monitor polls. The
MDC says its participation in the poll will also
depend on it being given
unfettered access to the media - and on whether a
transparent voter
registration process is put in place. With certain
analysts already
expressing doubt as to whether Zanu PF will meet all of
these demands,
however, the MDC's statements are viewed by many as a signal
that the party
will boycott the 2005 election. This has split public opinion
down the
middle.
Some feel the move was ill-timed, coming at a
time when SADC appeared to
have departed from tradition by applying pressure
on Zimbabwe's government
to reform its ways. The MDC, the argument goes,
should have "tested the
waters" first to take the measure of reforms duly
proposed by authorities -
which also include a pledge to provide transparent
ballot boxes, reduce the
number of voting days from two to one, and allow
ballots to be counted at
polling stations. Others such as Lovemore Madhuku,
chairman of the National
Constitutional Assembly (NCA), says the "boycott"
is long overdue. (The NCA
groups civic organisations which are pushing for
the adoption of a new
constitution in Zimbabwe.) Madhuku, whose offices were
ransacked by police
earlier this month, describes the MDC's decision to
suspend participation as
a "wise move" - and almost inevitable, given the
course of democratic
struggles elsewhere: "All people in the world who've
fought for the genuine
opening up of democratic space have not had the
privilege that the MDC has
had - participating in the system, while on the
other hand fighting to
change it."
In addition to the disputed
parliamentary election of 2000 and presidential
poll in 2002, the last five
years in Zimbabwe have witnessed the enactment
of a controversial land
reform programme that began with farm occupations by
war veterans and ruling
party militants. Most of the farms concerned were
owned by minority whites -
a legacy of colonial rule in Zimbabwe that has
proved resistant to change in
the two decades following independence. The
farm seizures precipitated an
economic crisis in the country, which has seen
its economy contract by about
seven percent per annum. Inflation has soared
to 400 percent. Some have
accused the MDC of failing to provide strong
leadership against this
backdrop of political and economic crisis. They
includes the outspoken Roman
Catholic archbishop of Bulawayo, Pius Ncube,
who describes the party as
"sitting back" and failing to harness public
anger. Brian Raftopoulos, a
professor at the Zimbabwe Institute of
Development Studies, says the MDC
needs to reflect critically on the state
of its organisational structures
and problems of internal accountability.
But, "Most importantly it will need
to offer a message of hope to its
existing and potential supporters, and
provide a programme of action that
will look beyond the 2005 elections."
ZIMBABWE: Ahead in loan repayments to IMF
[ This report does not
necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]
JOHANNESBURG, 14
Sep 2004 (IRIN) - Zimbabwe is ahead in its loan repayments
of US $1.5
million per quarter to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Local
economist Dennis Nikisi told IRIN that "by making those payments, it
shows
[Zimbabwe's] commitment to meeting our obligations ... it is the
intention
that is important", although the payments made so far "are still
tiny,
compared to how much we owe".
At the end of June, Zimbabwe's arrears to
the Fund amounted to almost US
$295 million, "which is quite a lot of money
... but the fact that the
Reserve Bank governor, Dr Gono, is striving to
meet those commitments will
engender a lot of goodwill," Nikisi
said.
The IMF office in Zimbabwe confirmed that "during 2004, Zimbabwe
has so far
made 10 payments of US $1.5 million each to the Fund, so total
payments
amounted to US $15 million".
This puts Zimbabwe well ahead
of its quarterly repayment schedule - a
situation that could bode well for
future dealings with the Bretton Woods
institution.
"I'm hoping that
in the not too distant future, Gono can go back to the IMF
and tell them
about what we've been doing. And I think the IMF and other
bilateral donors
will listen to us more sympathetically than they have in
the past," Nikisi
said.
In July the IMF's executive board decided "to postpone a
recommendation for
compulsory withdrawal, providing Zimbabwe with another
chance to strengthen
its cooperation with the Fund in terms of economic
policies and payments".
This followed what the Fund called "limited
improvements in economic policy"
and the resumption of loan repayments by
Zimbabwe.
New Zealand Herald
Struggle for a better life ends in crumpled
wreck
15.09.2004
When the crumpled wreck of a van came to rest
on Pakowhai Rd, Hastings, on
Monday it marked the end of a father's struggle
to provide a better life for
his wife and four children.
Leon
Oosthuizen, 44, moved to Hawkes Bay from Zimbabwe in February last year
with
his wife, Margie, and children Lendl, 17, Jessica, 14, Hannah, 11 and
Byron,
8.
He died after the van he was driving was involved in a collision with
a
truck shortly after midday on Monday.
The Oosthuizens were forced
to leave their farm in the Macheke area of
Zimbabwe, about 120km north of
Harare, after it was besieged by "war
veterans" as part of President Robert
Mugabe's land redistribution policy.
They faced increased violence in
their last years in Zimbabwe, with a gun
being held to Mr Oosthuizen's head
three times.
After deciding to emigrate, the Oosthuizens bought Redskin
Nurseries between
Clive and Hastings - they needed to buy a business that
employed two New
Zealanders to get visas.
A tearful Mrs Oosthuizen
yesterday said she would be unable to run the
nursery on her own and she was
worried the family's visas would be
threatened. "If we lose the business,
we'll lose the visa."
In Zimbabwe the couple leased a 1250ha farm growing
tobacco, maize, soya
beans, wheat, lupins and livestock. The land, which
they worked from 1992
until last year, had not been farmed for 18 years
before they transformed it
into a productive farm. They left the farm with
four years left on the
lease.
They arrived in New Zealand with
$80,000 after selling farm implements on
the black market, and smuggling
their three tractors into South Africa.
"We sold them for US$5000
[$7600]," Mrs Oosthuizen said. "It cost us
hundreds to get the border guard
to turn a blind eye."
Hannah said her father was loving, helpful, and
hard-working.
"He always used to work so much. In the last few days he
was getting so
stressed out because our boiler hasn't been working. It's a
very stressful
time with our debt. I don't know how we will pay it now. We
are trying to
pay it slowly, but it's very hard," she said.
Tears
began welling in the 11-year-old's eyes as she described waiting at
the bus
stop in Clive after school. Her father usually picked her up, but
yesterday
he was not there.
A family friend collected Hannah and brought her
home.
"I asked him where Dad was. He didn't say anything. I said 'Is he
sick?' He
said, 'Yeah' in a soft voice. I just hugged him. I saw four cars
in the
driveway and I saw Mum's car. Then I saw everyone crying. I asked Mum
what
happened. She said, 'Dad is dead'," Hannah said, wiping her
eyes.
"It feels so weird to know that Dad is not going to come around the
corner
and say, 'What are you all up to? What are you crying for?' I really
miss
him."
Mrs Oosthuizen, who celebrated her 19th wedding
anniversary last week, said
the family wanted to stay in Hawkes
Bay.
"We've had so many blessings," she said. "The Kiwis have embraced us
with
open arms. I feel like I lived here years ago and I've just come
back."
Mr Oosthuizen was returning to the nursery after delivering
tomatoes to
Napier when Monday's crash happened, closing the Napier-Hastings
route for
more than five hours as police cleared wreckage.
- NZPA
IOL
Now Mugabe wants 50% of mines
September 14 2004 at
03:40PM
Harare - The government of President Robert Mugabe will
soon lay claim
to half ownership of all the country's privately owned mines,
the state
press reported on Tuesday.
The state-controlled daily
Herald quoted the 80-year-old leader as
saying: "We are going to demand that
government be given 50 percent shares
in the mines."
"We cannot
recognise absolute ownership of our resources," he said.
"That must be
corrected."
Comment could not immediately be obtained from the
Zimbabwe Chamber of
Mines, which represents the mining
industry.
Mining is one of Zimbabwe's most vital economic sectors,
and one of
the few sources of foreign currency left in the midst of the
country's
economic crisis, following the collapse of the once robust
agricultural
industry.
The announcement indicates a far more
radical approach than was
planned in previous policies. In March, the
government shelved plans to
force international mining companies to sell 49
percent of their shares to
blacks.
Observers said Mugabe's
statement suggests that he plans a seizure of
the half-shareholdings with no
suggestion of compensation.
Zimbabwe has a wide range of mineral
output, and was a major world
producer of gold, diamonds, platinum, chrome,
asbestos and lithium, but in
the last four years of economic and political
crisis, production has
plummeted.
The country used to be
Africa's third largest producer of gold, after
South Africa and Ghana, but
in the last four years output has fallen from 30
tons a year to 12 tons in
2003.
International mining groups have also largely withdrawn from
the
country, with South Africa's Anglo American and Britain's Rio Tinto the
only
foreign companies with any large stake. - Sapa-dpa
News24
Mugabe ropes in Interpol
14/09/2004 20:30 -
(SA)
Harare - Zimbabwe has asked Interpol to help find fugitive
Zimbabwean
businessmen accused of economic crimes, state radio reported on
Tuesday.
Senior Zimbabwe police officers investigating several senior
bank executives
have already been assigned to visit Britain and neighbouring
South Africa in
connection with economic cases.
The radio said
President Robert Mugabe promised that executives accused of
crimes including
black market currency deals that hurt the country's
economic development,
would eventually be brought to justice in Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe has an
extradition treaty with South Africa, but the president
acknowledged that
Britain, the former colonial power he routinely accuses of
campaigning for
his ouster, was unlikely to extradite fugitives.
"Criminals are
criminals. Does it augur well for Britain to keep the
criminals?" Mugabe
said.
None of six of Zimbabwe's best-known banking executives who have
fled to
Britain this year have been charged with any crime in their
absence.
The private National Merchant Bank, which had been accused of
transacting
hard currency deals at unofficial exchange rates, said most of
the
executives had fled from a presidential decree in March that allowed
detention of economic crime suspects for up to 28 days without the option of
bail.
Under law the option of bail must be given in court within 48
hours of
arrest.
The fugitives have described Mugabe's decree as a
violation of
constitutional rights guaranteeing liberty and enabling them to
co-operate
in investigations, particularly into complex financial
affairs.
Opponents of Mugabe's say the decree was seen as a way to send
some of the
most successful businessmen, many critical of the government's
economic
policies, to filthy and overcrowded prisons.
It also would
serve as a propaganda ploy to show the government was fighting
high-level
crime and black-marketeering, opponents say.
The drive against executive
crime appears to be faltering under pressure
from the country's wealthiest
and most powerful political figures, lawyers
say.
Of three ruling
party politicians arrested in connection with economic
crimes two have been
freed.
New Zimbabwe
DANIEL FORTUNE MOLOKELA: FACING REALITY
It's the politics, stupid!
Last updated: 09/14/2004
20:06:35
A VERY sad story stole my attention last week. I read from one
of the
Zimbabwean newspapers website about Dr Gideon Gono's scathing attack
on
graduates who had left the country. The Reserve Bank Governor is reported
to
have cautioned young Zimbabweans who intended to abandon the country as
the
millions of others had already done in the last few years.
According to the newspaper report, Gono is said to have suggested that
history would judge the graduating students harshly if ever they failed to
realize the importance of being part of the fight to turn around the
economy. He then advised them to be more patriotic than their predecessors
by resisting the temptation to ply their trade abroad
Gono
appears to subscribe to the discredited theory that the
socio-economic
crisis our country is currently submerged under, has no
co-relation
whatsoever with the political turmoil that has engulfed the
nation. He seems
to believe that it is possible to revive the economy
without the need for
political reform in Zimbabwe. Gono wrongly assumed that
once the economic
fundamentals are addressed, then the political crisis
would
subside.
Unfortunately, as anyone who has been watching the crisis
in Zimbabwe
unfolds, it was a proverbial case of putting the cart before the
horse.
There is no doubt that Gono certainly missed the point and completely
misfired on that occasion.
It is my strong contention that
socio-economic decline we have
experienced over the last few years is
directly as a result of the failure
of our political system. In particular,
we have an electoral process whose
main contribution has only been to
severely undermine the democratic gains
that where realized in
1980.
Unless the political issues such as a fundamentally flawed
Constitution, criminalization of opposition party politics, gross human
rights abuse, draconian laws and Government sponsored terror are decisively
resolved; our nation shall continue to wallow in the marsh
mallows.
It is the resolution of the political crisis that will
determine the
process of socio-economic recovery for Zimbabwe.
Period!
Granted, the tragedy in Zimbabwe is a multi-layered crisis.
It
involves several aspects such as the land issue, socio-economic matters,
et
cetera. However it is clear that the root cause of the crisis are issues
of
lack of purpose and value driven leadership. The crisis is essentially
about
the lack of a culture of good governance and democracy.
It is contended further that the crux of the entire matter is the
issue of
the succession debate. In Zimbabwe we have a tragic case of a
geriatric
leadership that has found it difficult to pass on the button stick
of
leadership to a younger generation.
We have a 'gerontocracy' that
has completely undermined the nation's
logical process of democratic
transition in a desperate measure to remain in
power at all costs. The basis
of this selfish process of self-preservation
is directly linked to the
mistakes, which the likes of Mugabe have made over
the years.
In particular, there are such issues as the inexplicable deaths of
several
leaders of the liberation movement such as Chitepo, Mangena,
Tongogara and
Malunga, among others.
Not to mention the rampant cases of
cronyism, corruption and
land/wealth grab that we have witnessed in the
years after independence. Our
assumed liberators have completely abandoned
the masses in their
unquenchable quest for power and wealth. They have
utterly betrayed the main
values of the anti-colonial
revolution.
But even more importantly, is the unresolved issue of
the Matabeleland
genocide that occurred in the 1980s that also makes it
difficult for the
likes of Mugabe to release their firm grip on political
power. It is
generally agreed among experts that over 20000 lives remain
unaccounted for
as a result of the military campaign that was waged by the
North Korean
trained Fifth Brigade.
As such, Mugabe knows that
once he steps down, he faces serious
charges of crimes against humanity.
Mugabe is in essence, another case of a
Pinochet waiting to
explode!
Gono should thus disabuse himself from the notion that
young people
have a place in the future of the country. In fact as far as I
see, try as
hard as I may, there is just no future for young people in
Zimbabwe at the
moment.
The country has no basis for future
existence. There is no visionary
or strategic plan to take the nation
forward. We all do not have a clue
about where the nation is heading. I am
sure even Mugabe is stranded about
the way forward.
Whatever
happened to the Vision 2020, MERP and NERP comrades?
Young
Zimbabweans such as the Solusi graduands should not be motivated
to stay in
the country and watch the national decay haplessly or even worse,
be sucked
up into the wayward systems under the corrupt regime.
In any case,
even if they decide to stay over, the chances of them
ever getting a decent
job is like finding a needle in a haystack. The
country's unemployment rate
has already passed the 80% mark as I write
today.
Perhaps it is
suffice for me to mention that the only young people who
are guaranteed a
job are those with certificates of attestation from one of
the regime's
youth militia training centers. By that, I mean the so-called
'green
bombers' - danielmolokela@yahoo.com
Daniel Molokela is the National Co-ordinator of the Peace and
Democracy
Project
Johannesburg, South Africa. His column appears here every
Monday
New Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe newspaper hits UK news
stands
By Staff Reporter
Last updated: 09/15/2004 06:22:53 Last updated: 09/15/2004 01:52:28
A
NEWLY-LAUNCHED Zimbabwean paper hit the UK news stands on Monday.
Publishers of the 32-page monthly paper said it had
been set up to "articulate African issues" and provide critical information on
immigratrion matters and social services.
"We want to record the triumphs and challenges of
Africans, particularly Zimbabweans living in Britain," the paper's editor
Masithokoze Maphenduka-Moyo told the BBC TV on Monday night.
The first issue of the paper has the headline "I am
no kidnapper - Zondo".
The paper says it managed to get an exclusive
interview with Mthokozisi Zondo, an asylum seeker jailed for three years
(read stories) in Wales
after being accused of attempting to kidnap a toddler. He has maintained his
innocence and says he was just trying to be friendly with the child. A group of
Zimbabwean lawyers are seeking a review of the case.
The paper also has an exclusive interview with Emma
Nhamburo, a Zimbabwean singer who is riding high on the crest of the wave with
UK dancehall sensations FYA (listen to their
latest single).
Maphenduka said new media laws in Zimbabwe which have
forced the closure of three independent papers had denied Zimbabweans living at
home and abroad access to independent news and her paper would seek to fill that
gap.
The Fusion Voice which started with a print run of 10
000 copies is free. It will be published every 21st day of the month, the
publishers said.
"We hope to turn it into a weekly paper in early
January next year," Maphenduka-Moyo said.
She said the paper will be circulated mostly in the
Midlands and up North stretching to Scotland. It will be available at African
retail shops, restaurants and employment agencies.
For more information,
subscription details and advertising please e-mail: massy@mapassociates.co.uk or call
08707506303 or 01132489911
